The NORMANS and other conquests
A regular visitor to Normandy, writer Peter Cunningham finds something magical every time
MONT ST MICHEL IS A CITY THAT SEEMS AS IF IT HAS BEEN BUILT IN THE SKY
Over the years I have spent many happy days exploring the Normandy countryside within a couple of hours’ drive of the port of Cherbourg. I drive on board the Irish Ferries’ Oscar Wilde in Rosslare, have a drink, dinner, a walk on deck and a good night’s sleep; after the full Irish the next morning, I drive off the venerable ship and into the heart of Normandy.
Sometimes I head east, sometimes south. South brings me down the Cotentin Peninsula, orchard and dairy country whose cider makers are renowned throughout France. The main towns are built in the hills overlooking the coast. On the outskirts of Coutances, the famous cathedral suddenly appears on the skyline. Built on the ancient site of a previous cathedral, work was commenced in 1048.
The consecration of the cathedral in 1056 was attended by William the Conqueror. A classic example of the Gothic style in Normandy, the cathedral’s octagonal lantern tower stands over 57 metres high and its high twin spires can be seen from as far away as the island of Jersey. Mass has been said here every day for nearly 1,000 years.
Further south and inland lies the pretty town of Villedieu-les-Poêles which is known throughout France for its bell foundry.
Within sight of the nearby hamlet of Sainte Cécile, I check in to a wonderful 17th century farmhouse-guesthouse, Manoir de l’Acherie, that provides accommodation as well as hearty meals based entirely on the produce of the surrounding area. In summer I have eaten soufflé of langoustines and salmon cooked in cider sauce; in winter, fillet of boar served with braised cabbage.
It takes a little over an hour to drive from L’Archerie, south west, to the incomparable Mont St Michel. This is one of France’s most visited tourist attractions and is now a World Heritage Site. Within a three-kilometre radius of the Mont, a network of carparks and shopping malls, a visitor centre, and a departure point for shuttle buses has been laid down. It costs €12 to park for an afternoon and take the shuttle.
The apparition when you reach it is extraordinary. The Mont is a city that seems as if it has been built in the sky. You stand on the causeway above the surrounding marsh and look straight up: there, in the clouds, is a church, its spire dressed in gold, soaring into heaven.
The structure of 11th century Mont St Michel is a classic example of feudal society: God at the summit, represented by the abbey and the monastery; beneath the abbey the great halls, then stores and accommodation and finally, at the very bottom, outside the walls, the houses of the farmers and fishermen.
It takes about 30 minutes to climb the 900 steps, including queuing half way up for tickets. (They cost €9 each). The views are fabulous from the summit, the salt marshes a wash of muted colours, dotted with grazing sheep. The salt-flavoured meat of local lambs is a speciality that can be found on the menus of the restaurants in this area. Before you leave this walled fortress stop at La Mère Poulard for one of their delicious – if expensive – giant omelettes, several inches thick, made in hand-hammered copper bowls and cooked over an open fire.
Normandy is where the liberation of Europe began in June, 1944. I always make a point of visiting at least some of the landing beaches, for we owe our freedom today to the men who landed here 74 years ago. These are bucket-and-spade beaches, famous for scenes from Saving Private Ryan.
In the rich surrounding countryside white cattle graze in drowsy meadows, apple orchards line the roads and the drone of bees is occasionally interrupted by the wing-flap of a pigeon. Further west, near Colleville-sur-Mer, the somewhat flat topography gives way to high cliffs. And if you look more closely, here and there you will see sand dune and cliff top broken by the squat outline of concrete gun emplacements. The American cemetery above Omaha Beach has to be seen once in everyone’s lifetime. The city of Caen, pulverised by the allies during the Battle of Normandy (20,000 French civilians were killed), needed to be almost completely rebuilt. In the centre of town, only the brooding Norman castle of William the Conqueror escaped the Allied bombs. A few minutes up the road, on the canal linking Caen with the port of Ouistreham, is Pegasus Bridge, a decisive and famous landmark that fell to the Allies on D-Day.
Nearby, outside the pretty village of Ranville, the theme in the British and Commonwealth War Cemetery is that of an English garden: rose and rosemary, marigolds, thyme.
While the definitive museum/interpretive centre dedicated to the Battle of Normandy is Le Mémorial, located on the Périphérique Nord, Caen, most of the little towns along the coast of the D-Day beaches have their own museums. Most of them concentrate on the heroism, audacity and ingenuity of the allied invasion.
A different, more sombre note is struck at Friedenspark, La Cambe, a German military cemetery where 20,000 men are laid to rest. No headstones here for the failed and fallen, just copper-coloured tablets laid out in pairs on the earth. Some simply, say, ‘Ein Deutscher Soldat’.
Since I’m in the area, a trip to the medieval fishing port of Honfleur is always a must. I stay in the budget hotel Kyriad, five minutes from the port and walk into town where the restaurants on the harbour serve that days’ catch.
I often spend the night before the homebound journey in Barneville-Carteret. Barneville is the seaside resort; Carteret is a tidal port with a marina.
The beach at Barneville is long and sandy with miles of sand dunes. Hotel des Isles is right on the beach and is well priced for the budget traveller.
It takes just forty-five minutes to drive back to Cherbourg where the Oscar Wilde awaits – but I leave enough time to spend an hour or two in Cherbourg itself, in one of the many supermarkets, seeing what wine they have on offer. Auchan, at the top of the hill, in La Glacerie, is the best. As we head into spring, I’m already planning my next sea voyage to Normandy.
Peter Cunningham’s novel, Acts of Allegiance, is published by Sandstone Press, and is also available as an ebook on www.amazon.co.uk.